


Nightmares

by warrior_of_wisdom



Series: Castle Town Coffee Shop [20]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Captivity, F/M, Found Family, Gun Violence, Hostage Situations, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), Minor Character Death, Murder, Rescue Missions, Yeah you read that right, after three months i still dont know how to tag lmao, that got dark fast oml, this is dark y'all i'm just warning you
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2020-11-19
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:14:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27376270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/warrior_of_wisdom/pseuds/warrior_of_wisdom
Summary: “It’s been too quiet these past few days.”“I know.”“I don’t think it’s gonna stay this way.”“...Neither do I.”
Relationships: Legend & Hyrule & Warriors (Linked Universe), Legend (Linked Universe)/Marin (Legend of Zelda), Time & Twilight (Linked Universe), Twilight & Wild (Linked Universe), Warriors & Wind (Linked Universe)
Series: Castle Town Coffee Shop [20]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1883869
Comments: 30
Kudos: 77





	1. When The Chips Are Down

**Author's Note:**

> me: says that the wait for the next chapter wont be too long  
> also me: sixteen day wait
> 
> luckily, i've gotten over the burnout that essentially prevented me from writing for a month, so that's good :D

It was nerve-wracking, in this room full of machines with their constant beeping, constantly reminding Warrior and Wind that at any second, those machines could stop working and they’d lose their family.

Wind had completely broken down once he learned about how their parents were in the hospital, and it had broken Warrior too. He didn’t want to lose his family, and he knew how badly it would hurt Wind if that happened to him.

They had spent the majority of the last two days in the hospital, with Aryll staying home with Grandma. Wind had told them everything, and they made sure to stay home. Artemis had been keeping them company, and making sure that nobody came after them.

He had been talking to their parents a lot, too. Even when the lights were off and everyone else was assuredly asleep, Warrior could still hear him mumbling quietly. Wind insisted that they could hear him, that he wasn’t gonna give up because someday soon they were gonna wake up and everything was going to be okay again.

It probably wasn’t, but Warrior wasn’t about to say that.

Wind was strangely quiet that day, more so than usual over the past week. He hadn’t said a lot recently, only choosing to talk to their parents, but he had hardly said a word today. He was sitting at their bedside, holding their mother’s hand.

Warrior walked over to his side, sitting down next to him. “You’re awfully quiet today,” he said. “Something on your mind?”

Wind shrugged, fingering the pendant around his neck. “I’ve been thinking about a lot of stuff recently,” he whispered, squeezing his mother’s hand tightly. “Wars… what are we gonna do if they never wake up?”

“I don’t know,” he said quietly. “Grandma would technically be our legal guardian, so we’d have someone to take care of us… but we’d have to work a lot more to be able to afford the house. I could drop out of school… it would definitely impact my ability to get into college and get a future job, but-”

“Don’t do that,” Wind protested. “You’ve been talking all week about how excited you were to start your senior year with Legend and Twi.”

“But I might have to. It’ll be better for us right now, and-”

“I get paid eight hundred dollars a week,” Wind said. “I know that might not be enough for right now, but I can keep saving, and you can stay in school, and we both got trust funds, right? We could use those to help keep us afloat for a while.”

Warrior sighed. “You shouldn’t have to be thinking about this,” he said quietly. “You’re just a kid.”

“I know,” Wind whispered, leaning into Warrior’s arms. “But I think I lost the rest of my innocence last week.”

Warrior looked down at his little brother, seeing him still fidgeting with the necklace. “Where’d you get that?”

“A gift from Malon,” he said. “It’s called a Joy Pendant. There were supposedly a lot of them in the era of the-” He cut himself off abruptly, clutching the pendant tighter. “A really long time ago,” he finished. “They were said to flock to those who spread joy.”

“Well, you definitely spread joy in my life,” Warrior chuckled, holding him tighter and smiling.

Wind smiled back, though the smile on his face didn’t quite reach his eyes.

Warrior’s happy expression faded. “Are you okay?”

Wind shifted in his arms, leaning his head against his chest. “...I’m just really emotionally tired right now. My parents could die, I don’t have any friends my age… Wars, I literally can’t walk down the street alone anymore because I’m scared someone’s gonna try and kidnap me again. And there was the whole thing with the Children of Demise, and…”

“And what?”

Wind stiffened, and Warrior could feel his muscles tense. “It’s nothing. I just can’t handle everything going on right now.”

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, hugging him tightly. “You don’t deserve any of this. You’re just a kid.”

“You know... I don’t think I really am anymore.”

They were silent for a few more moments, until Wind spoke up again. “It’s been too quiet these past few days.”

“I know.”

“I don’t think it’s gonna stay this way.”

“...Neither do I.”

  
  


Hyrule took a deep breath, walking down the street and enjoying the fresh air as he walked to what was probably his doom.

He recognized every street from rushing to get home before curfew, from sneaking around the city at night with Legend and Ravio, from the walk home being imprinted in his brain.

He had to grab his hand to stop it from shaking as he pushed open the door to the apartment building, with his every thought screaming at him that this was a bad idea.

Hyrule ignored his thoughts, which was clearly his first mistake.

The walk upstairs seemed like it took a thousand times longer than normal, and his hands were balled up in fists by the time he made it all the way up. Steeling himself for what was happening next, he walked down to the end of the hallway, knocking on the door.

What seemed like hours (but he knew it was only seconds) later, the door creaked open, and he heard a rough voice say, “Get in here.”

Hyrule took a deep breath of fresh air, and stepped inside.

The lights were on, and he silently thanked Hylia because that meant that there was less of a chance of him getting hurt tonight. His mother’s apartment was less of a mess than he remembered, and he looked around, always keeping one eye on her.

“Why did you come back here?” she said, looking up from the newspaper she was holding. 

Hyrule hardly kept himself from running, standing tall and holding his shoulders high. “I had some questions that I thought you might have answers to.”

She sighed, dropping it on the table. “What do you want?”

“Why didn’t you ever tell us that we weren’t fully related?”

“Who are you even talking about?”

“My brother and me,” he said. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

She scoffed. “It wasn’t even that important.”

“It completely destroyed him,” he said, his anger spiking. “It’s not just nothing. It’s our lives, and we deserved to at least know about it.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Don’t talk back to me, young man.”

“I’ll do whatever I want,” he snarled. “You can’t control me anymore.”

That was the final straw, as she stood up, eyes narrowed into slits, and Hyrule took a step back. “Don’t come near me.”

He backed up further until he was standing against the wall, and she just kept getting closer. Hyrule reached into his pocket, holding onto his phone so tightly he was worried he’d break it. “Don’t get any closer. I’ll call my brother. I’ll call the Sheikah. I’ll call… someone. Just stay away from me.”

She shoved him up into the wall, yanking out his phone. “I’ll do whatever I want, and you don’t have a say in it at all. You know what you’re going to do? You’re going to call your brother, and he’s going to come back because he cares about you too much. He’ll go home with his father, where he  _ belongs _ , and you’re going to stay here.”

“Let go,” he said desperately, trying to shove her away from him. She pushed him to the ground, dragging him into the middle of the room.

His mother crouched down in front of him. “You are going to make this phone call, and you are going to make it absolutely clear that if he doesn’t come, you’re going to suffer because of it.”

Hyrule struggled against her grip, wrestling himself away from her and running to the door. She grabbed him by the back of his shirt, shoving him down again. “Quit struggling before I have to tie you down.”

He kept thrashing, and she finally walked away, only to return a few seconds later. She pulled him up, wrenching his arms behind his back and wrapping something around him.

Instantly, something inside him snapped, and he tried his best to break free, but she was too strong as she tied the knots, pushing him onto the ground and securing whatever was holding him to the table.

“Let me go!” he screamed, kicking and thrashing as he tried to break free, but the ropes held strong and he could hardly move his torso.

She crouched down next to him, holding the phone in her hands. “You are going to call your brother, and tell him to come back,” she said. 

“I’m not gonna do it,” he said, glaring at her with eyes flaming with anger. “You can’t make me betray him.”

She laughed, rolling her eyes. “Pathetic,” she said. “You really are that loyal to him, huh?”

Hyrule glared defiantly into her eyes. “I feel like that’s pretty obvious.”

She sighed, shaking her head. “It truly would be a shame if I turned you over to Agahnim instead of your brother,” she said, clicking her tongue. “He wouldn’t be as kind as I’m being to you right now.”

“You shoved me to the ground and tied me to a table. How in Hylia’s name is that kind?”

“Would you rather go through actual torture, instead of everything I’ve given you?”

“You didn’t give us anything.”

“I gave you  _ life,” _ she growled, getting down on his level and staring straight into his eyes. “I gave you the greatest gift a human being could give someone else, and how do you repay me? By running away and whining to people who don’t care about you the way I do.”

“You tortured the two of us for years! How is that love?”

His mother gritted her teeth, clearly done with his talking. She stood up, walking to somewhere behind him that he couldn’t see. Hyrule tried to turn around so he could see her, but the ropes held him tightly in place and he couldn’t move.

She was back in seconds, holding something in her hands that Hyrule couldn’t see. She stuffed whatever she was holding in his mouth, effectively serving as a sort of gag.

He tried to scream, but no sound came out. He couldn’t spit it out, because something was wrapped around his head.

A thought occurred to him.  _ How am I gonna be able to tell Legend to come back if I can’t say anything? _

“You’re probably wondering how you’re going to make that phone call now,” she said idly, grabbing his phone off the table. “Surprisingly, you were stupid enough not to change your password once you told me what it was… but that just makes it more convenient for me.”

He could hear the phone from here, and tears began to flow as he heard Legend’s voice on the other end of the phone.  _ I’m so sorry, _ he tried to say.

But it was of no use, as nobody could hear him.

  
  
  


Legend was just hoping he could have a peaceful night.

He and Marin were supposed to go on a date. It was supposed to be nice. It was supposed to be romantic, and fun, and the two of them might kiss and it would have been perfect.

They had met at the coffee shop, where Malon had tried her best to make the atmosphere somewhat romantic-looking. They had the blinds pulled all the way down, and the room was lit by candles. Marin hadn’t arrived until about eight minutes after their set time, but she looked absolutely gorgeous with her hair pulled up into a bun, with a flower crown on top of her head and the same light blue sundress she had worn on their first date.

It had been incredible, for the most part. They had dinner, and made some dessert together (Legend had to change his shirt because there was cake batter all over it, but it was definitely worth it), and cuddled together to watch movies.

It had all gone downhill with that phone call.

He almost didn’t answer the first time, until Marin looked over to the side, saying, “It’s your brother.”

He took the phone from her, answering the call and putting it on speaker. Marin turned the volume on her phone down so that they could hear, and as soon as the first word was spoken, Legend’s heart stopped.

Marin looked over at him, frowning at the haunted look on his face. “What’s goi-”

Legend placed a finger on his lips, signaling for her to be quiet, though his face betrayed that that was the last thing he wanted. “What do you want?” he said quietly, his voice shaking, and Marin grabbed his hand to make sure he wasn’t panicking.

_ “You’re going to come home,” _ his mother said, and Legend flinched, feeling the disguised rage in her voice,  _ “or your brother’s going to pay for it.” _

In the background noise of the call, Legend could hear muffled noise. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

_ “Well, I’m sure you wouldn’t want your father getting anywhere near him,” _ she said coolly, and a shiver ran down his spine.  _ “Otherwise… Agahnim might have to start from scratch with him. Stamp out any remaining rebellion.” _

Legend could hear his heart beating wildly, and Marin wrapped an arm around his shoulder, trying her best to ground him. 

_ “You have fifteen minutes to get here,”  _ she said. _ “Don’t be late.” _

The phone beeped, and Legend barely had time to bury his face in his arm before he screamed. Marin was pulling him close, rocking back and forth and making sure that he was okay. “What just happened?”

“I don’t know,” he said quietly. “But I think Hyrule messed up. Badly.”

“How badly?”

“Enough that we both might die,” he croaked, fingers digging into his shirt. “Goddess, how could this have gone so wrong?”

He checked the time.  _ 8:07 P.M. _

He had to get there by 8:22, or his brother could die, and he wasn’t going to let that happen.

“I have to go,” he said, still breathing wildly. “I don’t have time to explain, I just need to leave.”

“I can’t just let you go alone,” Marin said, standing up and crossing her arms. “Legend, I heard that phone call. I’m not letting you give yourself up to some crazy person, okay? You made me a promise that you would stick around, and I’m going to make sure you keep it.”

Legend gritted his teeth, sighing. “Fine, but we have to go. Now.”

She nodded, grabbing his arm and pulling him out of the shop. “Which way?”

“Left,” he said, pulling out his phone as they ran down the street.

“What are you doing?”

“Making a phone call.”

“To who?” she asked, but the phone was already ringing by the time she asked.

“Warrior? Yeah, it’s Legend, and I really,  _ really _ need your help.”

  
  
  


“I have to go,” Warrior said, peeking back into the hospital room from where he could see Wind, still sitting at their parents’ bedside. “Will you be okay by yourself?”

“I think so,” he said.”

“And if you need to leave?”

“I’ll call Tetra,” he said passively. “She said she and her dad could give me a ride anywhere if I really needed one.”

Warrior nodded, giving him a hug before rushing out of the hospital, and running down the street. Legend and a girl he didn’t recognize were waiting for him at the corner, and Legend looked like he was extremely out of breath.

“Warrior, this is Marin, my girlfriend,” he said in a rush, words tumbling out of his mouth. “Marin, this is Warrior, my best friend. We don’t have much time left, so we need to keep going.”

Warrior kept pace with Legend, looking over to him and frowning. “What happened?”

“Hyrule thought it would be a good idea to go back to our old apartment,” he said, gritting his teeth. “Now, Mom’s essentially holding him hostage and threatening to turn him over to my father if I don’t show up within the next…” He checked his phone. “Seven minutes,” he finished. 

Warrior’s skin paled, and he grabbed Legend’s hand. “I’m sorry,” he said. “It’s gonna be okay, ‘kay? We’re gonna rescue him.”

Legend nodded in agreement, but the distressed look on his face showed that he was thinking something completely different.

The three of them ran through the city streets in silence, the harrowing threat of what could be one of their closest friend’s impending death hanging over all three of them. They made it to the building two minutes before the deadline, with all of them breathing heavily with pounding hearts.

Legend remembered every step back to the apartment, which steps creaked and which ones wouldn’t make a sound when you stepped on them. Which lights worked, and which ones flickered all the time, and which ones were too bright and would blind you if you looked in them.

He didn’t ever want to have to come back, but here he was, walking right back into a world he so hated.

  
  
  


Hyrule could hear footsteps coming from the hallway, and the horrible feeling in his gut from earlier returned, causing him to pull his legs closer to his chest and cower in fear. He could still feel a small trickle of blood running down the side of his face, and he tried to wipe it off with his shoulder, but all that accomplished was spreading it across his face. The left side of his head was throbbing, and he couldn’t do anything about it.

The door opened, and Hyrule could just barely make out the shape of Legend’s body coming through the door. After a moment, his older brother came into focus, and he could see how angry he was just from the expression on his face.

He walked past him, hardly sparing him a glance as he glared at their mother. “Let him go.”

He could hear her laughing from behind him, and tears started pouring out of his eyes as he trembled in fear. “Why should I?”

Legend let out a sigh, and Hyrule turned around as much as he could, trying to catch a glimpse of his big brother. “Look, if you let him go, I’ll go quietly. I won’t fight back, just as long as you leave him alone.”

Hyrule’s eyes widened, and he started struggling against the ropes again, but all that achieved was a single glance from Legend.

“I’ll do whatever you need me to do,” he said, shoulders slumping. “Just let him go. Please.”

He could hear the creaking of the couch as their mother stood up, and a loud  _ crack. _ Legend stumbled back, and Hyrule looked up at him, seeing him holding his jaw and wincing.

He could also hear more footsteps coming from behind the door, and quiet words coming from the hallway.

Legend glared up at her. “You really feel the need to hit me when I’m down? I surrendered. There’s no reason for you to do anything anymore.”  
“I don’t owe you an explanation for anything,” she sneered, grabbing him by the arm and hauling him up. “Now. You’re going to be the one to tell your father that you’re ready to give up, since you’re so intent on surrendering.”

Legend nodded, taking the phone from her hands. He bit his lip, looking down at Hyrule. “I at least want a chance to say goodbye. Just one last time.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Why should I let you?”

“I just want to tell my little brother goodbye, is that too much to ask?” he shot back, kneeling down at his side and reaching for the ropes holding him to the table.

“I didn’t give you permission to untie him,” she growled.

Legend glared up at her. “It’s clearly cutting off his circulation,” he said. “He could die if they’re too tight.”

She scoffed, rolling her eyes, but didn’t prevent him from fully untying his brother.

Hyrule immediately leapt into his brother’s arms, sobbing, “I’m so sorry.”

Legend rubbed his back, holding him tightly and running a hand through his hair. “It’s okay, ‘Rule,” he whispered.

“How is this supposed to be okay? You’re willingly giving yourself up!”

“Don’t worry,” he said so quietly that Hyrule could barely hear him. “I have a plan. Warrior and Marin are right outside—we worked out a signal so that they can come in and help. It’ll be okay, I promise.”

Hyrule buried his face into his chest, still sobbing. “I’m sorry,” he said.

Legend shushed him, holding his brother close to his chest. “I love you,” he whispered. “I’m going to miss you. A lot.”

“I’m gonna miss you too,” he said, holding Legend close.

Legend sighed, standing up and holding the phone in his hand. Hyrule didn’t see how they could possibly stand a chance like this, but he was willing to stay strong for his brother.

He turned on the phone, swiping to the right. “Close your eyes,” he whispered. Hyrule obliged, confused.  _ What is he doing? _

There was a bright flash, and he understood.  _ Either he turned on the flashlight, or he took a photo with the flash on. Either one of those would blind her if she was looking straight at it. _

Legend stomped on the ground loudly three times, grabbing Hyrule and pulling him back towards the door.

  
  
  


Right outside, Marin and Warrior knew it was time.

  
  
  


The door burst open, and in an instant, the two of them were by Legend’s side, Marin taking Hyrule’s hand and pulling him back and Warrior stepping in front of all three of them.

His mother blinked for a moment, before narrowing her eyes and glaring at the four of them. “You’re going to regret this,” she hissed.

“Actually, I don’t think I am,” Legend said, stepping forward with a glint in his eyes. “You hurt me for years, so I don’t have a single problem with hurting you back. You hurt and abused my little brother, and if you think I’m just going to stand off to the side and let that happen, you’re completely wrong.” His fingers curled into fists, and he narrowed his eyes. “I  _ never _ go down without a fight.”

He looked over to Warrior, Marin, and Hyrule, saying, “Let’s go. I never want to see this place again.”

His mother narrowed her eyes. “Who says you’re allowed to leave?”

“We do,” a quiet voice said, and it took a moment for it to register in their heads that it was Hyrule’s voice. “You can’t control us,” he continued. “The two of us are human beings, with thoughts and emotions and feelings. There’s no way to control that.”

_ “You can’t leave.” _

“Watch us,” Legend said bitterly, grabbing Hyrule’s hand and pulling him out of the apartment.

Marin and Warrior were quick to follow, and the four of them ran out to the street, gasping for breath. “That was too close,” Legend said, leaning against the wall of a building.  _ “Way too close.” _

“I’m sorry,” Hyrule said, tears forming in his eyes again. “I’m so sorry, this was all my fault, you could have been captured or killed or something and it would have been-”

Legend shook his head, placing a hand on his shoulder. “I’m not going to pretend here, ‘Rule,” he said, “I’m a little disappointed in you.”

Hyrule shrunk back, and Legend sighed. “That doesn’t mean I’m angry,” he said. “But what were you thinking? Why did you go back there?”

“Well, you said that technically your dad was the reason that we were raised the way we were and I was hoping that maybe she didn’t actually want to do any of it, and I was hoping she could have answered some of my questions-”

Warrior looked over at him, tapping him on the shoulder to make sure he had the younger boy’s attention. “Abuse is abuse, Hyrule,” he said softly. “I know the line might have been a little muddled because of everything going on recently, but you need to understand that despite the fact that she may not have wanted to do anything she’s done to you guys, she still did it intentionally—and from the way we found you just a few minutes ago, she seemed to be enjoying it, too.”

“Just please don’t do anything like that again,” Legend pleaded, taking his brother’s hands and holding them close to his chest. “I love you too much to lose you.”

“I love you too,” Hyrule said, trembling as Legend pulled him into a hug. At the same time, Warrior’s phone began to ring.

“It’s Wind,” he said, swiping right to answer the phone. Instantly, he could hear a string of something unintelligible, followed by... more unintelligible screeching.

“Are you okay?” he asked immediately, Wind’s scream immediately inducing panic. “I can’t hear anything you’re saying.”

The screaming slowly stopped, and they could hear him trying to catch his breath.  _ “Where the heck are you?!” _

“Somewhere in the city,” he said. “Are you still at the hospital?”

_ “Yeah, but that’s not what I called for,” _ he said impatiently.  _ “Have you seen the news?” _

“I’ve been busy,” he said. “What’s going on?”

_ “Check it yourself. You aren’t gonna believe what happened.” _

They could hear something else over the phone, and someone else spoke up.  _ “Where are you right now?” _ asked Artemis.

“How did you get there?”

_ “It’s not important,” _ she said.  _ “And don’t worry, Wind and Aryll and your grandma are all here with me. Where are you?” _

“Um… right in front of the local Malo Mart,” he said. “Why?”

_ “Get to the coffee shop. Right now. Wind and I will meet you there. Oh, and make sure to check the news.” _

“Why?”

_ “Just do it, please. We’re trying to make sure everyone is safe.” _

“What does that even mean?”

But before he heard her answer, the phone beeped and the noise stopped.

“What was that?” Marin asked.

“Artemis and Wind said to check the news, and get to the coffee shop,” he said, pulling up the app on his phone. “I don’t really know what could be so bad— _ oh my goddess.” _

“What’s going on?” Legend said, clearly getting nervous. Warrior silently handed him his phone, and he read over the article, face getting paler with every sentence he read.

“What happened?” Hyrule demanded. Legend and Warrior exchanged a glance, looking back at the other two in disbelief. 

“The Princess of Hyrule has been kidnapped.”


	2. Your Worst Nightmare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Twilight learns something he _really _doesn't want to know about.__

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me, sitting down at my computer: finally, i have some time to write:  
> the 20 pages of homework i have, 3 30-question study guides, and 3 tests i have to study for: no <3
> 
> this is long overdue and i'm sorry, pls don't hate me :(

Twilight and Wild ran down the street, both of them haunted by the message that had just been sent to the group chat.

_ Wind: Something’s wrong. Get to the store, now. _

Sky had briefly asked what was going on, but Wind didn’t add any further comment. It wasn’t the content of the message, but the way he said it that worried them.

He was being so serious, and it scared them both.

They kept sprinting down the street, which was scarily empty, until they ran into another group of people. Twilight shoved Wild behind him, making sure his younger brother was completely okay, before laying eyes on the group in front of them.

Warrior was ahead of Legend, who was dragging Hyrule behind him. They all were as white as sheets, and Hyrule was clearly shaking.

Legend pushed his way past Warrior, practically throwing himself into Twilight’s arms. “Goddess, you won’t  _ believe _ what we’ve been through tonight.”

“I legitimately can’t tell if you’re acting or completely serious,” Twilight said, “and it’s scaring me. What happened?”

“Not important right now,” Warrior said, breathing heavily. “Did you see the news?”

“Not yet,” Wild replied. “All we heard was that something was wrong.”

“Oh, something’s more than wrong,” Legend said darkly, handing his phone to the two of them. They took one glance at the screen, nearly dropping it.

“You’re not serious,” Twilight said, after about a minute of silence. “This isn’t real.”

“It’s real,” Hyrule said from the back of the group, his voice much quieter than normal. “Wind and Artemis were really upset about it.”

Now that they were paying a little more attention, Hyrule was… in really,  _ really _ bad shape. The two of them could tell that he had tried to wipe blood off his face from the crimson smears across his left cheek and his hands, and blood was seeping through the arm of his sweatshirt. Legend hadn’t seemed to notice.

“What  _ happened _ to you?” Wild gasped. At this, Legend looked back towards him, eyes widening.

“Your arm,” he said, and Twilight noticed there was a slight shake to his hands. “My goddess, Hyrule, what did she do to you?”

The younger boy was clearly shaking as well. He reached up to touch his cheek. “For leaving in the first place,” he whispered, trembling.

“That doesn’t explain what happened to your arm—oh, Hylia… ‘Rule…”

“And one for every minute you took,” he said, his voice somehow quieter.

“No.”

Hyrule looked down at his arm, tracing his finger across the dark lines in his arm. “One… two… three… four…”

“Stop.”

“Five… six? Wait, I miscounted. Six, seven, eight…”

Legend was on the verge of tears now. “Please, stop.”

“Eleven, twelve…”

Warrior had to grab his hands, pulling them to his side. “Stop it.”

Hyrule looked up, catching a glimpse of Legend, who was seconds away from breaking down into sobs, before realizing what he was doing. “Oh,” he whispered.

He walked over to Legend’s side, ignoring the horrified looks on Wild and Twilight’s faces. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, hugging him tightly. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s not your fault,” he said, hiccuping. “If I hadn’t taken so much time, or if I had-”

“It’s completely my fault,” Hyrule said, his voice soft and reassuring. “I made the conscious decision to do all of that, and I’m sorry.”

“What happened?” Twilight cut in, rubbing his eyes.

“He thought it would be a good idea to go back to our mom’s apartment,” Legend said quietly. “It didn’t end well.”

Twilight stepped back, grabbing Wild’s hand and holding tightly. “Oh,” he said. “I’m sorry.”

Legend shook his head. “Everything’s somewhat okay now,” he said, “though…” He took a look down at Hyrule’s arm. “I don’t think I saw how bad it was until now.”

“I was trying to hide it,” Hyrule whispered.

“Why?” Legend winced at the way his voice cracked. “What if you bled out? What if those cuts were infected? What if-”

“Stop saying that,” Twilight said, striding forward and placing a hand on his arm. “The point is, we’re safe and okay for right now.”

“Well, we might not be soon,” Wild muttered under his breath.

The entire group froze. “...What?”

“The streets shouldn’t be this empty,” he said, face growing paler by the second. “And… who’s that guy?” He subtly pointed at a man standing in front of a store across the street. Although he appeared to be looking down at his phone, they could tell that he was looking up at them.

“That red wristband looks familiar,” Twilight said, narrowing his eyes. He looked around at the few other people who were standing in the street. His eyes widened as he realized that they were all wearing red wristbands, too.

“We have to get out of here,” he said, heart pounding. “This isn’t right.”

“What’s going on?” Hyrule asked, looking like he was about to be sick.

Twilight looked around the streets again, eyes landing on someone who was right behind them. They were reaching into their coat, pulling something out.

It was the middle of July.

_ “Run,” _ he whispered, and the others didn’t need any further instruction.

They all sprinted down the street, and to their dismay, more people with red wristbands came out from around corners and out of alleys. Within moments, they were surrounded.

Legend grabbed Hyrule’s hand, pulling his little brother close to make sure he was okay. “If we die here, I’m so sorry,” he whispered. Hyrule was shaking too badly to say anything in response. Warrior wrapped an arm around both of their shoulders, making sure that if anyone were to hurt them, they’d have to pass through him first.

Twilight pushed Wild behind him, stepping in front of the group and glaring at the people who surrounded them. There were about eight of them, all of them armed to the teeth and wearing a symbol that looked like the Sheikah symbol, but upside down.

He looked behind him at the rest of the group. Hyrule was peeking out from behind Wild, and Warrior was holding Legend in a tight hug.

“What do we do with them?” one of the people standing behind them said, and Twilight whipped around.

“It’s simple,” another one said, on the far right, and Twilight heard a subtle click.

“Kill them all.”

  
  
  


Twilight went completely pale, and he could hear a slight gasp from Wild. Hyrule whimpered behind him, and Warrior growled quietly.

From a quick look at the group, only about two of them had guns—the rest of them were armed with extremely deadly-looking, circle-shaped weapons with spikes around the edge of it. He couldn’t identify what it was from a single look at it, but he could tell that it was just as capable of killing them as a gunshot was.

They raised their weapons, ready to fire on them, before someone yelled the command for them to halt. Another person pushed through their ranks, laying eyes on the group.

“Are you stupid?” he hissed. “Did you not take a single look at these people?”

Wild inched closer to Twilight. “Does this mean they aren’t gonna kill us?” His voice was quieter and smaller than he had ever heard it, and it terrified him.

“Even if they didn’t, we still would be in big trouble,” he whispered back. “I’m so sorry.”

Wild nodded, holding his hand and squeezing it gently.

“Lord Ganondorf said to bring them in  _ alive,” _ he said, voice growing angrier by the second. “And did you not look at who you were about to  _ shoot? Dead? _ Three of them are our targets!”

“What do we do, then?”

_ “Stand down,” _ he said, shoving his pistol into the holster and turning back to the group.

He looked over all five of them, eyes narrowing when he saw Twilight. “I remember you,” he said in a voice that nearly made him flinch. “The son of the Fierce Deity, himself.”

But he didn’t, instead choosing to remain strong and return his glare. “Well, I sure don’t remember you,” he said, eyes narrowed and glaring straight into his eyes.

The man shook his head. “Well, you were a very annoying baby,” he said, his glare somehow intensifying. “Never stopped crying… I almost killed you right then and there.”

_ That _ was not something he’d been expecting, and it showed. Before he could say anything else, his eyes flitted to Legend. “There you are,” he said, growling. “Goddess, we’ve spent so much time looking for you. Your father will pay us well for this.”

Legend’s skin turned pale, but the look in his eyes was anything but scared. “You’ll have to kill me first.”

He sighed. “I’m afraid that can’t be arranged,” he said, pushing past Twilight and Wild and wrenching Legend’s arm out of Warrior’s grasp. The older boy gasped, trying to take his friend’s hand, but the man pulled him away too fast. Legend looked back at them, his expression showing that he was internally screaming for help.

“Goddess, you’ve been such a nuisance,” he hissed right into Legend’s ear. “It’ll be so fun to break you.”

Legend was trying his best to remain strong, but anyone could see how badly he was shaking.

“Ganondorf didn’t say we had to bring  _ all _ of them in alive, did he?”

That single sentence brought him to his knees, clearly about to start crying.

“Goddess, you’re weak,” the man muttered, grabbing his wrists and pulling him up. “Grab the two older ones—they’re the ones Lord Ganondorf wanted.”

“What about the younger two?”

“Kill them, for all I care,” he said, bringing forth a quiet sob from Legend. “They’re not as important as these three.”

Twilight’s heartbeat rapidly quickened, and he could practically hear it thumping in his chest. He and Warrior grabbed hands, shielding Wild and Hyrule from them. “You want to hurt them, you’re gonna have to get through us first,” he said.

He could hear a click. Two of them. Three of them.

The pop was so loud that Twilight’s ears were ringing.

The man holding Legend up fell to the ground, dead.

  
  
  


If the sound of the shot was loud, Hyrule’s scream was louder.

Wild clamped a hand over his mouth, trying to calm him down, but it had the exact opposite effect, as Hyrule dashed to Legend’s side, grabbing his brother and shaking him. He was trembling on the ground, blood covering his hands as he stared down at them. The rest of the people scattered, dashing down the street and running away.

Now that they were gone, Twilight could get a better look at the person who had probably just saved all their lives. He looked over, heart skipping a beat when he met his eyes.

Or rather, his eye.

“Dad?” Wild whispered quietly, running towards him. Time caught him in his arms, holding him tightly.

“You just killed someone,” Twilight said, and a shiver ran down his spine.  _ “My goddess, you just killed someone.” _

Time sighed. “I know you’re upset-”

“Upset?  _ I just watched my father kill someone!” _

“He was going to kill your brother and Hyrule,” he said with a cold edge in his voice. “And that man has killed many innocent citizens of Hyrule in his attempt to get his hands on you three.”

He let out a sigh. “I’m sorry,” he said.

“No, you’re not.”

“...Fine, I’m not sorry for killing a mass murderer who was going to kill your brother.”

“What’s wrong with you?” Twilight cried, anger and fear and sadness bubbling in his chest. “You just  _ murdered _ someone.”

Time shook his head. “I don’t have time to explain right now,” he said. “We need to get back to the shop. Now.”

“But-”

“No buts.”

The finality in his voice was enough to get Twilight to follow him.

The walk to the shop was only minutes, but it felt like hours. Countless thoughts swam through his head, all of them terrible.  _ How many more people has he killed? Were they all bad people? Did they beg for their lives? _

_ How much is he hiding from us? _

They walked into the shop, not exchanging a word. Warrior’s arm was wrapped tightly around Legend, who was still shaking like a leaf. Hyrule and Wild were right next to them, the former holding his brother’s hand.

The group continued up the stairs, seeing Malon, Wind, Artemis, Blue, Vio, Shadow, and Sky sitting on the furniture. Wind looked deeply disturbed, and Malon was holding him close, rubbing his shoulders.

It made Twilight feel sick.

They walked in, and Twilight pushed his way in, glaring at his mother. “How many people?”

She frowned, looking up at him. “What do you mean, honey?”

“Don’t  _ honey _ me,” he snapped, feeling a tiny twinge of guilt when she looked up at him sadly. “How many people did you and Dad kill?”

Malon pressed her lips together. “Honey, there’s a lot of things you don’t know yet, and-”

“I don’t care!” he yelled, and his voice cracked. “How many?”

He felt a hand on his shoulder, and he looked up to see Time looking up at him, his disappointment clearly expressed on his face. From one look, he could tell that he was in trouble. 

“Drop it,” he said, and Twilight glared at him, before sitting down on the floor.

Time looked at him one last time, before moving to stand in the middle of the room. “So, I’m sure you all heard the news by now,” he said, before being cut off by Wind.

“That’s not everything that happened,” he said, his voice hoarse as if he had been screaming beforehand.

Time raised an eyebrow. “Explain.”

Wind looked off to the side, his face pale. “Cia… she’s dead. I watched her die.”

Warrior looked up at him, gasping. “What?”

“Burned to death,” he whispered, trembling. “It was impossible to look away.”

“I had to take the phone from him,” Artemis explained quietly. “He didn’t know, but he was screaming. Loudly.”

Warrior nodded, looking away.

Time swallowed, looking guilty, and Twilight almost scoffed.  _ You’ve killed people before, why does it matter? _

“I’m sorry,” he said, and Twilight noted every movement, scanning for any evidence that he might be lying. He was so confused. Was his father a murderer? Did he really feel sorry that that man was dead? Was he actually upset that  _ Cia, _ of all people, was dead?

He didn’t believe it for a second.

“But that is not why you all were called here tonight,” he said. “Wind called the meeting, but I told him to. I had more… pressing matters to attend to.”

_ Oh, really? _

“As you know, you all were involved in the rescue mission,” he said, glancing at Wind. The younger boy seemed to curl into himself at the mention of the event, and Twilight’s hatred only deepened. Why did he have to bring up such a sensitive memory for him?

“I told you who the Children of Demise were,” he said, “and what they believed.”

“You said they thought they were the reincarnations of Demise,” Blue said, narrowing his eyes. “Why?”

Time sighed. “I didn’t mention that, well, they weren’t wrong about that.”

The entire room went silent.

“...What?” Legend said quietly, rubbing his wrists. Twilight could see that they’d already started to bruise.

“In the era of the Chosen Hero, the god Demise placed a curse on the Hero and Hylia,” he explained. “He said that an incarnation of his hatred would be reincarnated along with the Hero and Hylia for the rest of time.”

“But if they’re all the reincarnations of Demise, that has to be a lot of villains,” Vio said, frowning. “Which means that there would need to be a larger population of heroes and goddesses to combat those villains.”

After a moment, his words registered in everyone else’s heads, and the room went silent again.

“You mean,” Hyrule said quietly, “...us?”

“All of you,” Time confirmed. Across from him, Vio turned pale, taking Shadow’s hand.

He had to be lying. He had to be. There was no way.

“You’re lying,” Twilight found himself saying before he could stop it.

Time looked back at him, walking over and squatting. “I am at my wits’ end with your behavior,” he said, with a glare of an intensity Twilight had never seen. “You need to be quiet, and let me explain.”

“It’s completely crazy!” he exclaimed, finally done with the insanity. “You come in trying to say that we’re some sort of reincarnation of some stupid hero thousands of years ago, and that the Children of Demise are too, and I saw you kill someone just ten minutes ago! Excuse me if I don’t completely believe every word you say!”

Somewhere in the middle of his rant, he had stood up, getting right in Time’s face, and he was regretting it. Time lowered himself down to his level, glaring into his soul. “Go to your room,” he said so quietly that he almost didn’t hear it. “I’ll be in to talk to you in a minute.”

Twilight crossed his arms, running into his room and slamming the door. He sank to the floor, eyes growing blurry from tears. It couldn’t be real. It wasn’t real.  _ It wasn’t real. _

But it was real, and he cried for the life that he had probably just lost forever.

  
  
  


Right outside the room, Time cleared his throat. “As I was saying,” he said, “Vio’s assumption was correct. Everyone present in this room was a Hero a long time ago.”

“And this is all of us?” Blue questioned.

Time flinched. “Well… this might require a bit of explaining.

“We are all reincarnations of different heroes throughout Hylian history. The Hero of the Skies, Hero of Time, Hero of Winds, et cetera. Most of us share a name with our predecessors, but you were the only exception. Your ancestor was the Hero of the Four Sword, who split into four different, color-coded parts using a weapon called the Four Sword. Green, blue, violet, and…”

“Red,” Blue finished, his hands clenching into fists. “We aren’t getting him into this.”

“I didn’t plan on it,” he said curtly. “Now, there were some of us who already knew about this. I asked for those two to keep quiet about it, though.”

Warrior looked around, seeing how Sky looked away from him when his gaze landed on him.  _ That’s fine. He’s an adult, he can do what he wants. _

He kept looking around, examining everyone until he saw Wind. As soon as his little brother noticed he was looking at him, he looked away, red coloring his cheeks.

And Warrior understood.

“You knew.”

“I didn’t want to.”

“You knew, and you didn’t say anything.”

“Wars, this is bigger than just us,” he said, finally looking over at him, and Warrior instantly felt guilty when he saw the tears streaming down his face. “Those people wanted to  _ kill _ me just because of something some kid who just happened to share my name did, like, fifty thousand years ago. We aren’t ever gonna be safe again because of this. This freaking curse. It’s ruining my life, and I  _ hate _ it.”

“Why didn’t you say anything before? I would have helped you!”

“I don’t need your help, Warrior!” he yelled, the red on his cheeks spreading to the rest of his face—but it wasn’t from embarrassment anymore, instead being indicative of his anger. “You don’t have to do everything for me! Just because I’m a little traumatized, and because I’m a little hurt, doesn’t mean you have to protect me!”

“Calm down,” Time said, striding forward and placing a hand on their shoulders. “This isn’t a time to fight. We need to unify before something else comes between us.”

Wind nodded. “I’m sorry, Wars,” he said, hugging him tightly. “This is just… taking a really bad toll on my mental health. I didn’t mean to yell at you.”

“It’s okay,” he said quietly. “I just wish you had said something instead of suffering for so long.”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

  
  


Twilight buried his head under the blankets, trying his best to make it look like he was asleep when Time came in.

He sat down on the edge of the bed, letting out a soft sigh. “Twilight, I just want you to know that I’m not angry with you.”

“I’m done with lying,” he whispered. “Please, just tell me the truth.”

“I have a feeling that the truth isn’t what you want to hear.”  
Twilight stilled when he heard Time crying.

“Dad?” he asked quietly, sitting up. “What’s wrong?”

“I didn’t want to kill him,” he said, breaths escaping his mouth in quick gasps. “But I saw him holding Legend like that, and the guns, and my mind went to the worst, and my first instinct is still to fire. I’m so sorry you had to see that.”

Twilight could hear the genuine sorrow in his voice, and he felt sick. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I’ve been terrible.”

“I’ve only killed one other person before,” he said, his voice strangled. “You were just a year old…”

Something surfaced in the back of his mind. “Dad… that guy said he knew me. When I was a baby.”

Time sighed. “Twi, when you were a year old—just a little while after Wild was born, actually—our house was raided by a subgroup of the Children of Demise called the Yiga Clan. They… they made it out with you, and threatened to kill you unless we gave ourselves up.”

Bile rose in his throat. “Really?”

“It was the worst thing I’d ever felt,” he said quietly. “The idea that my own son might die because of  _ my _ incompetence. Twilight… I’m so sorry you had to witness what happened tonight. I  _ never _ wanted another person to die by my hands, but…”

“What did you think was going to happen?”

“To you?”

“No, to Legend. That’s why you tried to shoot and kill him, right?”

“...I saw the way he was holding him, and assumed the worst.”

“...Oh my goddess.”

“But we didn’t let anything of the sort happen, so that’s good,” he said, letting out a sigh of relief. He leaned over, pressing a kiss to Twilight’s forehead. “I’m so sorry you all had to see that.”

“It’s okay,” Twilight said, eyes burning. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” he said quietly. “Good night.”

  
  


“Shadow, I need to talk to you for a second,” Time said, exiting Twilight and Wild’s room. “Can you step outside with me?”

Shadow frowned, following him down the steps. “What’s up?”

“I received a set of instructions from the queen regarding what to do about your father,” he said, clearly embarrassed. “She said to do whatever necessary to neutralize him, even if it involves…”

“Killing him,” Shadow said in a flat tone.

Time winced. “Yes.”

“So… why are you telling me?”

“I thought you should know… after all, he is your father and if you don’t want me to kill him I won’t-”

“Do it.”

Time raised an eyebrow. “Pardon?”

“Please, do it,” Shadow said, his eyes glistening. “I don’t want him to  _ ever _ be able to hurt someone the way he hurt me again.”

After Time didn’t respond, he continued. “Who’s to say he can’t sweet-talk his way out of this? If he does, who’s the next innocent fifteen-year old kid who doesn’t know any better? Who does he charm next? Who does he pretend to love, building up so many good memories and then bringing it all crashing down on our heads?”

He took a deep breath. “I’m not outright saying that you should kill him, but… if he just so happened to die, I wouldn’t be upset.”

Time nodded, a sigh of relief escaping his lips. “I wouldn’t have killed him if you weren’t okay with it. I’m not a murderer.”

“I know.”

Time tilted his head. “Hmm?”

“A murderer wouldn’t make sure his worst enemy’s child was okay with him killing his father.”

  
  
  
  


Twilight was awakened by someone shaking his shoulder, and he opened his eyes. “What?”

Legend was glaring down at him. “We need to leave.”

He sat up. “Why?”

“Dad’s gone,” he said shortly, pulling on the sleeves of his jacket. “He went to go fight Ganondorf. We can’t just let him go do this alone.”

“We wouldn’t stand a chance on our own,” he said. “We’re just two kids, Leg. He’d kill us immediately.”

“Well, then it’s a good thing we’re not alone,” a voice said from the doorway, and Twilight could see Warrior, Blue, and Sky standing in the doorway.

“We have a ride, and backup, and everything,” Legend said, crouching down. “And I don’t know about you, but I’m not leaving him to do this on his own. According to what he said earlier, we all have just as much of a battle with him as Dad does.”

“You’re calling him Dad.”

“I know,” Legend said, waving his hand dismissively. “But we need to go. The fact is, he doesn’t stand a chance without us.”

Twilight bit his lip, before sitting up. “Fine.”

He got dressed, grabbing a couple changes of clothes and stuffing them into a bag. He followed everyone else down the stairs, into Sky’s truck. The moon was suspended in the sky, and for a moment, he was able to forget everything bad that was going on.

But it only lasted for a moment, and he was thrown back into the real world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we're getting so close to the end, im a little sad tbh


End file.
